CCEA may consider awarding 8 blocks under NELP-9 tomorrow

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is likely to consider tomorrow awarding eight more oil and gas blocks that were offered in the ninth round of bidding under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

The government had offered 34 areas for exploration and production of oil and gas in NELP-IX in 2010 and bids for 33 were received at the close of bidding on March 28 last year. Of these, CCEA in March awarded 16 blocks to firms like ONGC while bids for 10 blocks were rejected due to bidders offering lesser than expected profit petroleum.

Official sources said the CCEA at its meeting scheduled tomorrow is likely to consider awarding six onland and two offshore blocks.

Mumbai basin deepsea block MB-DWN-2010/1 is likely to be awarded to consortium of UK's BG Exploration & Production Ltd and BHP Billiton Petroleum (International Exploration) Pty Ltd of Australia.

BG-BHP combine beat a consortia of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Oil India Ltd (OIL) and GAIL to the block.

Shallow water block MB-OSN-2010/2 in the same basin is due to be awarded to a consortium of OIL, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, who were the sole bidders.

Sources said the required clearance from the Ministry of Defence had been received for exploration in the two offshore blocks.

Earlier, the two Mumbai basin blocks could not be awarded to the first ranked bidders as there was no defence clearance.

For Assam-Arakam basin onshore block AA ONN-2010/1, a consortium of Prize Petroleum and ABG Energy are in pole position.

Based on recommendations of an Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECS), the CCEA would consider rejecting bids of Ishar Gasoil Pvt Ltd for failure to meet networth criteria. Ishar Gasoil was top bidder for Rajasthan block RJ-ONN-2010/1, Ganga Valley block GV-ONN-2010/1 and Cambay basin block CB-ONN-2010/2.

Since Ishar Gasoil was sole bidder for GV-ONN-2010/1, this block would not be awarded at all. The Rajasthan block would go to the next highest bidder, a consortium of GAIL, Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL), BF Infrastructure Ltd and Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd.

A consortium led by Deep Energy stands to get the Cambay block.

Sources said Sankalp Oil and Natural Resources which was awarded three blocks by CCEA in March, had not signed contract for two Cambay basin blocks.

Because of this, the CCEA would consider cancelling award of CB-ONN-2010/9 and CB-ONN-2010/8 blocks to Sankalp and awarding them to next highest bidders -- ONGC and a consortia of BPRL, GAIL, Engineers India, BF Infrastructure and Monnet respectively.